In Shenzhen, it’s hard to pay without an app, and it’s raising privacy concerns

Frustrated and hungry, Wang Xiaoxu finally gave up on a meal with her friends at a local restaurant one night after the ordering system blocked her when she refused to share personal data via her mobile phone.

“There were no paper menus, only a QR code that can be scanned on the table,” said Wang, a 28-year-old engineer in China’s tech hub of Shenzhen. “I had to agree with a request to collect my WeChat name, portrait, and region and could not see the menu, make an order, or pay my bill if I refused.”

Photo credit: 123rf

Wang’s experience is becoming an increasingly common problem in China, where people have been quick to embrace the convenience offered by digital services but slower to understand the potential negatives of sharing their personal data.

That may now be changing though, upending the widespread perception that Chinese people do not care about “big brother” watching their every move.

Last month, Chang Lijie, who also lives in Shenzhen, said he quit trying to buy film tickets online after Maoyan, China’s largest movie ticketing app, asked for his phone number, personal identity information, and employment details.

“It is really unacceptable that I have to share my personal information just to watch a movie or eat,” said Chang. “I can understand a location request from a weather app to provide a forecast but why do I have to share my phone number and ID just to buy a film ticket?”

Maoyan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although China has historically had weak privacy laws, public concerns are rising in places like Shenzhen – home to Tencent Holdings, Huawei Technologies, ZTE, and other tech giants – over the widespread harvesting of personal data as China’s economy goes digital. While the trend toward cashless payments is nationwide, it is in tech hotspots like Shenzhen that eating and shopping has become almost exclusively an online-only experience.

“Concerns are rising among Chinese internet users over data collection and related security issues,” said Dingding Zhang, former head of Beijing-based research firm Sootoo Institute and now an independent internet industry commentator. “The users who don’t care about personal data leaks probably don’t realize how it can hurt them.”

The China Consumers Association (CCA), the country’s consumer watchdog, recently said a large number of smartphone apps in China were collecting an excessive amount of personal data, including user location, contact lists, and mobile numbers. A report released late last year said that 91 out of 100 mobile apps that it reviewed were suspected of collecting too much data, without naming them.

“Many apps collect excessive amounts of personal data, going beyond service requirements,” said Wu Shenkuo, the secretary general of China’s internet development research institute, according to a report from state-run media outlet China News. “Excessive collection [of data] is illegal.”

China’s internet companies to date appear to have taken an ambiguous position on data privacy. On the one hand, they have extolled the benefits of how large amounts of data can be parsed by new AI tools to generate a more personalized and efficient consumer experience. On the other hand, they have had to be nimble in dealing with rising anxiety over how private information is being collected and used in order to maintain consumer trust.

The China Internet Report 2019 found that AI is used on a massive scale in China, with applications ranging from paying a subway fare or checking into a hotel using facial recognition to helping authorities track down fugitives on the run or enforcing traffic laws. Venture capitalist and former Google China head Kai-fu Lee said that in today’s AI age, data is the new oil, and China has more of it than any other country.